Update: I was unfortunately not aware of Shamus Young's severe criticism of Fallout 3 available here to link in the original piece and I regret that. It dovetails rather nicely with what I've written and it's much better executed than my piece. I strongly recommend anyone...

I thought maybe we could discuss musical scores in video games that we find really interesting. After all, the score can often make bad/mediocre games tolerable. If you'd like, also include a sample of a score you find particularly interesting.

My favorite (at the moment) is Jesper Kyd. He has an impressive body of work; mainly in video games, but also fiilm.

Wow, Longo. What an amazing piece! I totally didn't expect it to take off in the many directions it did. Now I want to play this Solstice game. Never had an NES. I think I'm missing out on a lot of awesome gems. Thanks for contributing, buddy!

Very cool submission, De-Ting. I love the different instrumentation. Its use of all the percussion and vocal chanting gives it a tribal vibe; African perhaps. I dig it! I particularly like the music that starts at 16:02, "Am ma eya." Glad to see games I'm not familiar with!

Very cool submission, De-Ting. I love the different instrumentation. Its use of all the percussion and vocal chanting gives it a tribal vibe; African perhaps. I dig it! I particularly like the music that starts at 16:02, "Am ma eya." Glad to see games I'm not familiar with!

Yeah, that's one of my favorites. Atlantis' soundtrack was probably the first to strike me as emotionally-engaging video game music.

Ok, here's another: Caesar 3. It's a city construction game, and your job is to govern and build on Rome's ever expanding provinces. I have logged sooooo many hours in this game, and what really hooked me (other than its light-hearted gameplay) was the music. If I went back in time to visit Rome at its peak, I would be really bummed not to hear music similar to this:

Wild Arms, hmmm. There's another game to add to the list. I really like what I hear so far!

Unfortunately, there aren't that many notable female composers. Historically, many were well known because of who they married or were kin to (like Clara Schumann). One does stand out to me: Sofia Gubaidulina, who doesn't write for video games, but is a reputable modern composer nonetheless.

This piece could definitely be used for a video game (or The Shining). It does seem to be influenced by Bartok. It was actually written in dedication to the great cellist, Rostropovich. It's quite haunting, and a lot of it contains an ambient tone so it wouldn't be too intrusive and overshadow gameplay. Her music is definitely worth checking out. Thanks for the input, Lien. I will be on the lookout for more women of music now.

I love Kyd's work on AC2. Ezio's Family theme is my favourite in the whole series.
I loved Harry Gregson-Williams in MGS2 until I realised he actually was a film composer!...Well I still love him, but he doesnt count here._________________

I loved Harry Gregson-Williams in MGS2 until I realised he actually was a film composer!...Well I still love him, but he doesn't count here.

Sure, he counts! If a person has written for a single game, count it! I encourage everyone to research a little something about the music you like, especially within film and games. You may be surprised with what you discover. For instance, after looking up Harry Gregson-Williams, I found that he's been involved with every MGS after "Son's of Liberty," has collaborated with Hanz Zimmer (Lion King guy) he is composing the score for the newest CoD game (which may be its only redeeming quality - just kidding). He was also the composer for Shrek 1-3. Wow!

I'm glad I made this thread; superb submissions so far. Thanks, comrades!

Grant Kirkhope, probably among the best composers in gaming, working on pretty much every Rare game from the mid to late 90's to 2008. Some of his best work includes games like Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark, and Goldeneye, Hes recently done work for Kingdoms of Amalur and Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z.

We also have Jack Wall and Sam Hulick, the team for BioWare's Mass Effect. Wall worked on the first two games, while Hulick did a lot of the work in 3, along with composer Clint Mansel and several others.

Wall recently worked on Lost Planet 3 and did other games, such as Jade Empire, Mark of Kri, and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. Hulick's game credits are Maximo vs the Army of Zin, Conclave, Baldurs Gate: Enhanced Edition and Fates Forever as well.

Your welcome, loved his work in Persona 4 and after 70+ hours it was summed up in the True Ending Final Boss Battle. The Genesis, it was just glorious._________________St HK, Boondock Saint
thetank score: 2660

Thanks for all that input, Links! I only recognize Robert Prince out of the names you mentioned - cool man! I like what I hear from all the links you provided, especially the Banjo-Kazooie tune. It's like a polka and a march; almost an evil carnival sound. The instruments reminded me of what you'd hear on the pirate ship in Donkey Kong Country 2. I imagine lugging around cannon balls with a Bassoon for a peg leg.

I've noticed many newer games tend to have a team of music writers. I wonder how that works. I suppose they may write their own material, then it's all used throughout the game.

HK-47 wrote:

Your welcome, loved his work in Persona 4 and after 70+ hours it was summed up in the True Ending Final Boss Battle. The Genesis, it was just glorious.

This is my favorite part about great video game scores: Motif. It's a musical "theme" you can hear throughout the entire game. Sometimes it's been transposed in another key, arranged with different chords to add color, sometimes heavily embellished with little counter melodies. So, often times, you have to listen carefully.

One example of a game that relies on a motif is Demon's Souls (composer - Shunsuke Kida). It is the four notes you first hear in the opening credits. Now, music is interestingly absent for most of the game except for boss battles and some video sequences - I like this, it adds to the suspension of pondering what's ahead. Ok, Most bosses have their own unique tune to give them character, but each piece contains that haunting motif somewhere inside. It's a very powerful and grimacing sounding theme. In my opinion, it bears a strong resemblance to Dmitri Shostakovich's DSCH motif (which is basically his musical signature, considering his constant use of it).

Here are some examples of the Demon's Souls motif. The first three are easy to distinguish: